Autumn SONATA

SHARMILA TAGORE WALKS DOWN THE MEMORY LANE OF HER VIBRANT CAREER. TANISHA BHATTACHARYA TAKES NOTES

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Sharmila Tagore is like a force of nature. You can't take your eyes off her, even at the age of 78. In her latest film, Gulmohar, she plays a matriarch who has secrets of her own. The film has an old-world charm to it, and Sharmila's presence lends it a certain gravitas. Talking to her, you feel like you're talking to your grandmother and also to your college bestie. She's so alive, so in with the times, and is a font of nostalgia as well. You want to keep talking to her and listening to her stories forever. She takes you back into a bygone era when people were more gentle and time flowed at a less hurried pace. In a heart-to-heart interview, she talks about everything, about being related to Rabindranath Tagore, working with Satyajit Ray and Uttam Kumar to not play by the rules and yet reign in Hindi cinema. Excerpts:

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF TODAY?

Many things. First and foremost, “The director knows best.” Let me share one instance. I always had a problem managing my frizzy hair and the Bombay weather didn’t help. So after much trial and error, Meena, my hairdresser, settled on the bouffant. While it worked for some roles, it didn’t for others. For example, Anupama. I remember Hrishi Da, director of the film, protesting that the bouffant didn’t suit my character, as Uma was a neglected child. I didn’t listen to him. Hrishi Da being Hrishi Da, managed to keep quite a bit of the bouffant out of the frame, thereby reducing its negative impact. I got tremendous praise for that film, even now it’s very well-liked. But in hindsight, I should’ve listened to the director. I would tell the younger Sharmila that you were too headstrong. It’s the director who makes the film. It’s his vision. Your